Damon S. Baird
Private Damon Baird is a dedicated tech-head and professional skeptic. In Baird's world, if something can go wrong, it probably already has. His sarcasm can keep people at a distance, which is why he prefers the company of machines. He believes in the Coalition's cause, but he's often frustrated with command decisions, and he took offense when Colonel Hoffman promoted Marcus Fenix to lead Delta Squad instead of him. Baird longs to one day command a squad of his own and sees his recent reassignment as a step in the right direction. Background Damon Baird is a member of Alpha Squad who was later reassigned to Delta Squad after the former unit was essentially wiped out by the Locust. He was partially (if not directly) responsible for the deploying of both the Sonic Resonator and the Lightmass Bomb. Baird's main strength lies in his intelligence, although he is a capable soldier as well. He is probably the closest thing the C.O.G. has to a Locust expert as he observes and studies them extensively while engaged in combat. He can even read some measure of their language. And as if that wasn't enough, he excels in mechanics, hacking, repair, and other technical abilities. He treats building a bomb like giving someone a breath mint (see top quote). By the events of the first game, Baird is a Private, though he has been a non-commissioned officer on several occasions. He is constantly being promoted for his tactical insights and experience before being busted down the ranks for insubordination and disrespect for his superiors. He is demonstrated on multiple occasions to be capable of leading a squad, as with the introduction of the Berserker in Gears 1. If not for his bad attitude, he would likely be well above the ranks of most Gears. Plot Baird is first introduced in the final chapter of Act 1, China Shop, in the Delta Squad's first encounter of a Berserker. From then on, it is clear that he holds a grudge against Marcus, likely due to the fact that he is jealous that Marcus was promoted instead of him, and they are alike in both attitude and demeanor. Even though Baird was paired up with Augustus Cole for most of the time, Marcus and Baird team up every once and a while, but not for long. However, in battle he quickly puts his grudge aside and cooperates, particularly when his and his teammates' lives are at stake. As time goes on Baird begins to trust Marcus, and eventually is rendered completely loyal to Fenix and his team. However, he still retains his trademark attitude. His skills in engineering and mechanics are shown off during certain times in the game. He is seen hacking into a Geobot at the end of Act 3 after the Resonator had failed, which consequently had a huge impact upon the lightmass bombing. His skills are also shown when he was given time to fix the APC during Act 4. Baird, along with Cole, is in Gears Of War 2. Baird's Grindlift jumpmate was Tanner, who was killed shortly after they landed. In the beginning of the game Baird was part of Sigma Squad. He rejoins Delta after he is saved by Marcus, Dom, Cole, and Benjamin Carmine. At the time of his rescue he was going to be taken aboard a Beast Barge to be tortured and, as Baird puts it, "processed". Through the game, Baird helps the team by saving Delta while they're protecting Dizzy, guiding Delta through the Rift Worm, and fixing Delta's Centaur. The struggle between Marcus and Baird is substantially better, as there is very little infighting between Baird and Dom, with the exception of Baird's sarcastic personality.. Marcus usually teams Baird up with Cole or Dom, showing that he doesn't want to work with him, but on the other hand, right before Delta fought the Lambent Brumak, a King Raven got struck down and Marcus spontaneously screamed "BAIRD!" in a worried tone. Baird wound up being fine in another Raven replying with "I'm still here Marcus." Multiplayer Damon Baird is initially available for multiplayer in both Gears of War 1 and Gears of War 2. Notable Quotes The below are technically non-canon as Baird directly addresses the viewers, but they are still in character (and still hilarious). Trivia *Damon Baird is the only Gear in the game that is seen wearing goggles. The only time he is seen putting them on is before the Reaver flight in Gears of War 2. *Baird may have got his second name after the inventor of the television, John Logie Baird. *Damon Baird suspiciously reminds some players of popular game character "Duke Nukem". This could be because he and Duke share many traits: they both have blonde hair, they both have a cocky attitude, and their most popular catch phrase is "Eat shit and die". **Many gamers say that he looks like the character from Final Fantasy 7, Cid Highwind. ***Many also think that he looks like the Captain N incarnation of Simon Belmont. *Baird is the only member of Delta Squad that somewhat understands the Locust written language. *Baird "hosts" all the official Top 5 Gears of War Series videos, providing typical in-character color commentary even as he breaks the fourth wall. *Baird, along with Cole, never fights a Berserker, but is in all the levels that Berserkers appear in. Category:COG Category:Gear Soldier